The return of professional rugby to New York with the announcement from Women’s Elite Rugby is a significant development.
Rugby Revival: This marks a revival of professional rugby in New York, a city known for its diverse and vibrant sports scene. The return of professional women’s rugby will add to the city’s rich sports culture. The announcement emphasizes the positive impact on the local women’s community, including potential youth development programs, increased local engagement, and the boost to local businesses. Don’t get me wrong, as a New York Rugby fan we will still claim The Locals of the PR7s, but as far as local matches, the WER NY team should be playing the other teams in a more traditional match schedule versus PR7s tournament style which has yet to make its way to the New York Metro area. The other teams who have been announced at this point are Bay Area, Denver, Twin Cities, Chicago and Boston
Riding the Wave: To effectively capitalize on the surge of interest in women’s rugby generated by the Bronze Medal winning 2024 Olympic Women’s Sevens team and the social media hype of the women on the team like Ilona Maher and Ari Ramsey, the WER will want to implement a strategic approach that taps into this momentum. The WER has already publicized the new 2024 Legacy Cup which will put the Top 4 Women’s/WPL teams against each other. Semi-finals will be hosted in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday September 7th. The final will be hosted in Greensboro, North Carolina a week later on the 14th. Tickets are on sale now at their website WomensEliteRugby.us.
Leveraging the Media and Influencers: The need to collaborate with sports influencers and celebrities who can amplify the message is strong. We already mentioned the likes of Ilona Maher and Ari Ramsey, but there is a need to branch out. In 2020 ESPN did a piece on Tess Feury who is now contracted with the Leicester Tigers and recently Captained the Eagles in Japan. That piece showcased Tess working as a nurse during the early days of the Covid Pandemic, her rugby career and her family connection with rugby. These are the in-depth stories of current Eagles players that can be used to get more visibility to not only the sport but the individual players. We also need mainstream celebrities to get in on the action, The Big Guy has seen multiple celebrities, like Jason Momoa, Shane Gillis, Samuel L Jackson and the like comment on Rugby in other countries without a peep about USAR. Their endorsement can help reach new audiences and enhance visibility. I grant you the list I mentioned are all males, but the point being they need to watch the sport here. Ilona Maher got Jason Kelce and Flavor Flav to attend the medal matches in France, now let’s get them to WER matches!
Community and Grassroots Rugby: This is something already inherent in the creation of the WER as seen in the Legacy Cup. I will be excited to see some community events on the announced cities. Partnering with the local school systems will be the most fruitful. Having players teach the kids touch in PE and having free after school skill clinics will have a lasting impression on new rugby fans. With the news on Michele Kang’s investment in the Women’s 7s Eagles for the 2028 Olympics, the nest step is for WER to look to partner with Kynisca Sports even at a lower level. Kynisca has partnered with women’s soccer and the investment has proved fruitful.
What really matters: We as fans need to literally put our money where our mouths are … we need to pay for tickets, pay for merchandise, be vocally supportive and travel to away matches! It’s quite simple … spend the money to show the support, that’s how the sport grows professionally.
